It's always a special experience whenever we get to see the effects of our work beyond the screen, and last week's Bay Area Cohort event was no exception. Within the elegant halls of School Night at The Pearl in San Francisco, our UpMetrics team gathered participating Bay Area Cohort funders and grantees together in person for the first time, providing them with a rare chance to make connections and collaborate in the same space. As a follow-up from our inaugural Bay Area Cohort funder workshop earlier this year, we were incredibly proud to witness first-hand how much progress has already been made with this relatively new cohort. Check out the video below for a quick recap of that inspiring night!

During our two-hour lunch and collaboration we were able to:

• Create multiple opportunities for funders and nonprofit grantees to get to know one another outside of virtual meetings.
• Provide space for the cohort's first Grantee Spotlight, where a grantee showcased their impact framework, shared their learnings and insights, and peeled the curtain behind the work we've been doing with their team during our 1:1 meetings for the last eight months. 
• Pilot our first "Case Study" activity and had funders and grantees practice the "Leverage" stage of DeCAL. The real-life application of using our "tech + team" method to connect capital to impact was incredibly valuable and exciting to see. The energy was palpable and reflections from the group were enlightening and full of insights. 

After that collaborative workshop, we ended the day with a lively networking and happy hour session not only for our cohort participants, but also with the wider world of Bay Area nonprofits, funders, and changemakers in the social impact space. With nearly 50 attendees present, the energy in the space was nothing short of momentous, as local community builders mingled and forged new connections in the name of social impact. Seeing how our technology has transformed the work of mission-driven organizations in the Bay Area region has been immensely rewarding, and we look forward to hosting more in-person events throughout our cohort locations this year!

For more information on the UpMetrics Cohort program, which provides nonprofit grantees and funders with access to the UpMetrics platform, professional services and training sessions to get up and running quickly, and UpMetrics-hosted shared learning sessions for 3 years, please click here.